Oneida, NY -- Oneida City police say they caught a man setting a fire Friday night after staking out a neighborhood plagued by recent arsons. Police had been watching the Seneca Street and Bates Avenue area after three arsons in May. “We had set up surveillance in the area and fortunately last night one of my investigators basically caught Michael...
Oneida, NY -- Oneida City police say they caught a man setting a fire Friday night after staking out a neighborhood plagued by recent arsons.
Police had been watching the Seneca Street and Bates Avenue area after three arsons in May.
“We had set up surveillance in the area and fortunately last night one of my investigators basically caught Michael Allen in the act,” said Sgt. of Investigation John Little. “He was trying to start a house on fire.”
Oneida police provided the following account:
At 9:57 p.m. Friday, police Investigator David Meeker Jr. saw Allen, 43, leave his house at 425 Seneca St., go next door to 421 Seneca St., and use a lighter to intentionally start a fire to the rear porch lattice. Damage to the residence was slight.
Police charged Allen with felony arson and 11 counts of reckless endangerment resulting from the hazard caused to emergency personnel who responded.
He was arraigned in Oneida City Court and sent to the Madison County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond.
Three suspicious fires on Seneca Street are under investigation by the police and Oneida City Fire Department. Additional charges are pending.
A garage at 421 Seneca St. was destroyed after a fire on May 10. On May 21, a fire destroyed a home at 429 Seneca St. The next day there was a fire on a small porch lattice at Allen’s home.
“I know the next door neighbors were very nervous,” Little said.
Catching a suspect in the act is “one of those things that you really hope for in an investigation, where your best laid plans for prevention of something of this nature comes out and pays off for you,” he said. “It’s good to know other residents can sleep a little better.”